Devil's Point (River Tamar)
Devil's Point is a headland southwest of Stonehouse , a district of Plymouth in Devon . The headland is on the east bank of the Tamar at its confluence with Plymouth Sound , across from Mount Edgcumbe .
Geography and nature
The southern half of the headland is a 3.5 hectare County Wildlife Site due to the presence of field man litter, which is rare in Great Britain, as well as verbena sage , wild parsley and nine other plants rare in Devon . Because of the low rocky coast overgrown with bushes, the peninsula belongs to the Western King Site of Special Scientific Interest .
history
In 1472 there is mention of a St Lawrence chapel on the headland, which was probably demolished in the 18th century. The stones from the chapel were reused in the construction of the folly in the park at Mount Edgcumbe House . For centuries, the headland served as a lookout point for the local population and crew members when war and discovery ships entered or left Devonport . To ward off a feared landing by a French-Spanish fleet, a redoubt with 12 18-pounder cannons was built on the peninsula in 1779 , similar to the redoubts of Mount Wise and Mount Pleasant . In 1807 the coastal artillery position was expanded, in 1860 it was reinforced as part of the fort belt around Plymouth by two more batteries to the Western King's Redoubt . In 1899, the outdated muzzle-loading guns were replaced by 7 12-pounder rapid-fire guns, and the old fortifications were built over with new concrete beds. The number of guns was reduced to two by 1930, and in 1941 two anti-aircraft gun positions were built below the gun positions. The guns were dismantled in 1956 and the fortification finally abandoned. Devil's Point is freely accessible today, the concrete gun beds are still well preserved.
From 1826 to 1835, the Royal William Victualling Yard , a central supply depot for the British fleet , was built on the northern half of the peninsula, where St Lawrence's Chapel used to stand .
Web links
- Plymouth City Council: Devil's Point County Wildlife Site
- Victorian Forts: Western King's Redoubt (PDF; 384 kB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Plymouth City Council: Western King Site of Special Scientific Interest. Retrieved May 2, 2013 .
- ^ The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History: Church of Saint George of Lydda. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 5, 2012 ; Retrieved May 2, 2013 .
- ^ The Friends of Devils Point Park. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 26, 2013 ; Retrieved May 2, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 50 ° 21 '42.1 " N , 4 ° 9' 53.1" W.